Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 151,185 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,385 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $16,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 69.8% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $118.28 on Friday. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.17 and a 52 week high of $126.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.89. The company has a market cap of $28.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.61.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 56.56% and a net margin of 0.56%. The business had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.82 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CAH shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cardinal Health from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.50.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc operates as a healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home.